Pagariya men bag title

By Paritosh Pramanik

PAGARIYA Strikers batters unleashed brute power to bury Bharat Rangers under a mountain of runs. But Rangers too were up to the task. They showed nerves of steel and fought out hard till the last over. However, in the end it was Pagariya Strikers who grabbed the trophy narrowly winning the final.

The VCA’s Jamtha Stadium was lit up with sixes and fours as both the sides unleashed their brute power to entertain a 30,000 plus crowd.

Pagariya Strikers posted a huge 249-3 in 20 overs. Bharat Rangers chased the target till the end but managed to score 241-8 in 20 overs as Yash Kadam-led registered a narrow eight runs win.

Rangers captain Atharva Taide went cheaply (9) followed by Vedant Jajoo who managed 26 with two boundaries and as many sixes. Aniket Pande, who was promoted up the order, could not make an impact as he got run out for 4. A lot was expected from Danish Malewar but he too perished on 9 going for a big hit. Manan Agrawal (67) and Jagjot Sasan (37), to some extent, held the fort with 63 runs for the fifth wicket but the latter’s wicket in the 12th over put Rangers in more trouble.

Varun Bisht gave hope to Rangers with 21-ball 56. Needing 77 from 24, Bisht hit seven sixes and a four to bring the equation to 39 from 12 before he was caught in the 18th over. After him Hrushikesh Pawar slammed a six and a four to keep the run-rate in grasp. However, needing 20 from Sanskar Chavate’s last over, Bharat Rangers could score 11 runs only.

Earlier, it rained fours and sixes from Pagariya Strikers batters as they posted 249-3 in 20 overs. It was slaughter of lambs as Bharat Rangers bowlers failed to find any answers.

Impact substitute Samarth (90*; 47b, 8x4, 4x6), opener Sheikh (70; 48b, 8x4, 2x6) and Kadam (73*; 19b, 4x4, 9x6) turned the tables scoring runs in boundaries and sixes.

Sheikh and Samarth first bailed out their side from the initial trouble scoring 67-2 runs in powerplay. In the process they also completed 50 runs partnership for the third wicket in 29 deliveries and then completed the team’s 100 runs in 10 overs without any further damage. The next 10 overs were bloodshed as they picked 149 runs.

Sheikh was the first to complete his half century in 35 deliveries, milking in six boundaries and a couple of sixes. Samarth too followed suit completing his fifty in 31 deliveries. The Vidarbha Pro’s knock was laced with six boundaries and a six. In the process, he also strengthened his grip on the Orange Cap, emerging as the highest run-getter of the tournament with 459 runs from 10 innings.

Their partnership of 144 runs was finally broken by Bhute who got the wicket of Sheikh caught at mid-wicket by Danish Malewar in the 16th over.

However, Sheikh’s departure brought more trouble for Bharat Rangers bowlers as skipper Kadam and Samarth freed their arms hitting Shubham Kapse for 26 runs in an over with four sixes. Next over, Samarth sent the leather into the mid-wicket stands. Kadam then hit Kunal Kungwani for three sixes and a four to complete his half century from 15 balls which buried Bharat Rangers under a mountain of runs from where they could not rise.

SCOREBOARD

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Ahuja c Jajoo b Bhute 1 2 0 0

F Sheikh c Malewar b Bhute 70 48 8 2

U Rajput c Pawar b Kapse 11 4 1 1

R Samarth Not Out 90 47 8 4

Y Kadam Not Out 73 19 4 9

Extras: (w 4) 4

TOTAL: (3 wickets, 20 overs) 249

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-14, 3-158.

Bowling: Bhute 4-0-36-2, Kapse 3-0-56-1, Kungwani 

4-0-61-0, Pawar 2-0-17-0, Sarvate 3-0-26-0, Sasan 3-0-39-0, 

Bisht 1-0-14-0.

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide c Gujar b Rai 9 6 1 0

V Jajoo c Ahuja b Salve 26 13 2 2

A Pande run out (Gujar) 4 3 1 0

D Malewar c&b Salve 9 6 2 0

M Agrawal c Gujar b Sanjay 67 41 2 5

J Sasan c Ahuja b Gujar 37 20 1 4

V Bisht c Sanjay b Chawate 56 21 1 7

N Bhute c Singh b Chawate 9 6 0 1

H Pawar Not Out 17 5 1 2

A Sarvate Not Out 1 1 0 0

Extras: (w 4, nb 2) 6

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 241

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-28, 3-43, 4-52, 5-115, 6-211, 7-211, 

8-240. 

Bowling: Rai 4-0-35-1, Chawate 4-0-58-2, Salve 4-0-31-2, 

Singh 2-0-38-0, Gujar 4-0-45-1, Sanjay 2-0-34-1.

    

Strikers to meet Rangers for title

Pagariya Strikers beat Orange Tigers by five wickets in Qualifier 2

By Paritosh Pramanik

PAGARIYA Strikers made it to back-to-back finals of the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 after they defeated Orange Tigers in the Qualifier 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Saturday.

In a low-scoring game, last year’s runners-up Pagariya Strikers defeated Orange Tigers by five wickets to book a final date with Bharat Rangers.

The mega final will be played on Sunday evening after the women’s summit clash at Jamtha Stadium.

After bowling out Orange Tigers for 150 in 19.4 overs on a slow track, Pagariya Strikers achieved the target in 19 overs with highest run-scorer of the tournament Ravikumar Samarth (60*; 44b, 5x4, 2x6) scoring a fine unbeaten half century. Samarth took the Orange Cap back with 369 runs.

The partnership of 54 runs for the third wicket between opener Faiz Sheikh (38) and Samarth was the turning point of the innings as the two denied Orange Tigers any inroads after some early wickets.

Pagariya Strikers lost opener Aditya Ahuja (17) caught by Yash Rathod off Saurabh Dubey for 17 in the third over. The Tigers tasted another success in Updesh Rajput’s (1) wicket next over. However, Samarth and Faiz build their innings to take their team near the target. They lost Faiz in the 11th over but Samarth and Sanjay (16) took their total near the target.

Pagariya Strikers won the important toss and they rightly invited Orange Tigers to bat first.

The Rathod-led side found it difficult to bat as they crawled to 150 in 20 overs. The slow nature of wicket assisted Pagariya spinners as they shared six wickets between them with Sanjay, Jasvindar Singh Tak and Pushpak Gujar taking two each.

Orange Tigers lost openers Mandar Mahale (24) and dangerous batter Rohit Binkar (19) by the fifth over. To add to their misery, captain Rathod (5) got run out for the second successive game putting pressure on the middle order.

Pagariya Strikers dropped two catches before the halfway mark. Rahul Singh failed to judge a high catch of Dhruv Shorey as he lost the ball in the lights. Later, debutant Tak dropped a skier off his own bowling giving a life to Addhyan Rauthan. However, Tak succeeded in getting his maiden wicket in the same over when he got Shorey (9) caught on the long-on boundary by Samarth as Tigers slumped to 69 for four. Tak once again deceived Orange Tigers batter, this time getting Rauthan (25) who gave an easy catch to Gujar at mid-wicket fence in the 13th over.

Akshay Karnewar (14) hit two sixes but side-arm spinner R Sanjay trapped him in front of a low and slow delivery making matters worse for Tigers. There was a 10 minutes break due to passing showers, and on resumption, Dahiya hit a boundary towards covers to take their total to 130-7 in 17 overs.

Next over, Vishesh Tiwari swept Gujar for a four but they could add another 20 runs and were all out in 19.4 overs.

NAGPUR HEROZ ELIMINATED Binkar, Mahale, rains take Orange Tigers into Qualifier 2

By Paritosh Pramanik

FIRST it rained fours and sixes from the blades of Orange Tigers’ Rohit Binkar and Mandar Mahale and then pre-monsoon showers poured on VCA’s Jamtha field forcing umpires to abandon the match after 7.5 overs. The result spelled doom on Nagpur Heroz as they were eliminated from the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2.

Fourth placed Nagpur Heroz were ousted due to inferior net run rate (NRR). Though Orange Tigers and Nagpur Heroz had the same number of wins and points, NRR came into effect which pushed the Siddhesh Wath-led side out. Orange Tigers had an NRR of 0.549 while Nagpur Heroz had 0.331.

The toss was delayed and the 15-overs-a-side match started an hour late due to rain. Nagpur Heroz invited Orange Tigers to bat first and Binkar threw his bat around scoring 45 runs from two overs. He plundered Nagpur Heroz pacers Umesh Yadav and Rajneesh Gurbani with towering sixes. Binkar (46; 14b, 4x4, 6x4), who has a century and a couple of fifties against his name in the tournament, picked 14 runs from Yadav’s first over. He then went all out against Gurbani picking 31 runs from his first over which had four sixes and a boundary apart from a wide and a couple of runs. Orange Tigers completed 50 runs in 2.3 overs. Binkar could not complete his half century as he was caught by Gurbani off Yadav in the third over.

Mahale (47*, 20b, 3x4, 4x6) then took the command but Tigers lost quick wickets in quick succession. At the end of powerplay (4.3 overs) Tigers had collected 87 runs for the loss of two wickets.

Tigers got a blow when captain Yash Rathod got run out to a non-existent run. They then got another shock in Akshay Dullarwar’s wicket who was caught in deep by Iknoor Bhamra off Parth Rekhade.

Meanwhile, Mahale continued to collect runs but twisted his ankle while completing a second run from a leg bye. It was then that heavens opened again, halting the play with Orange Tigers scoring 107-4 runs from 7.5 overs. After waiting over an hour for rain to stop, umpires decided to call off the game at 5.24 pm.

SCOREBOARD

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R M 4 6

M Mahale Not Out 47 20 3 4

R Binkar c Gurbani b Yadav 46 14 4 4

K Dahiya c Bhamra b Soni 4 3 1 0

Y Rathod run out Suryavanshi/Wath 1 1 0 0

A Dullarwar c Bhamra b Rekhade 1 2 0 0

S Padole Not Out 5 7 0 0

Extras: (wd 1, lb 2) 3

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 7.5 overs) 107

Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-71, 3-89, 4-92.

Bowling: Yadav 2-0-25-1, Gurbani 1-0-31-0, Soni 1-0-15-1, 

Muley 1-0-18-0, Rekhade 1.5-0-8-1, Jolly 1-0-8-0.

Match abandoned.

Rangers storm into final

Butter-fingered Pagariya Strikers spill bucketful of catches to lose the match by five wickets

By Paritosh Pramanik

ADITYA Ahuja scored a fine century (109) for Pagariya Strikers but their butter-fingered fielders let the game slip away from their grasp as Bharat Rangers stormed into the final of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Friday.

Chasing an imposing target of 231, Bharat Rangers, assisted by a bagful of dropped catches, achieved the target with five wickets in hand and three balls to spare. Pagariya Strikers will meet Orange Tigers in Qualifier 2 on Saturday.

Pagariya Strikers players first dropped rival captain Atharva Taide twice and then spilled the catch of Varun Bisht (35; 15b, 2x4, 3x6) deep into the game several times. Pushpak Gujar was the culprit on a couple of occasions.

If that was not enough, Sanskar Chavate overstepped when he got Bisht caught at long-off by Ahuja. In the same over Bisht hit a four and a six to bring the equation down. In the meantime Nachiket Bhute showed his batting skills to hit 9-ball unbeaten 22 with two sixes and a boundary. When Bharat Rangers needed six runs from the last over, Bisht was again dropped by Gujar at mid-wicket off Rahul Singh. Bisht completed the formalities with a six. Chavate was hammered for 51 runs from three overs.

Earlier in their innings Vedant Jajoo finally got back his form with a 31-ball 62 after Athrava Taide perished on a personal score of 34. The openers put up 85 runs for the opening wicket. Danish Malewar then scored 25-ball 44 runs to keep his side in the hunt.

Pagariya Strikers opener Ahuja slammed Bharat Rangers bowlers with consummate ease as they posted a huge 230-9. Ahuja hammered 10 huge sixes and five boundaries in his 61 balls stay in the middle. Apart from his century, the talented batter stitched three crucial partnerships throughout their innings. He first added 49 runs for the second wicket with Updesh Rajput (54; 13b, 3x4, 5x6) and then put up 41 for the fourth wicket with captain Yash Kadam (16). The best partnership came for the fifth wicket when he and R Sanjay posted 87 runs from 43 

deliveries.

Ahuja was at the Centre stage of Pagariya innings with his fluent batting. Sixes flew from his bat with ease and he completed his maiden century with a six over long-off boundary in the 19th over. His knock had nine maximums and five boundaries.

Faiz Sheikh picked a couple of boundaries off Hrushikesh Pawar but the bowler got him caught at the very next delivery at point by Danish Malewar.

Strikers promoted Updesh Rajput at No 3 holding back regular R Samarth and the decision worked for a while with the former hitting a hat-trick of sixes off Nachiket Bhute. Next over he picked up a couple of fours and as many sixes off Pawar as Pagariya raced to 63-1 in four overs. 

SCOREBOARD

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Ahuja c Taide b Kapse 109 61 5 10

F Sheikh c Malewar b Pawar 8 3 2 0

U Rajput run out Bhute 45 13 3 5

R Samarth c Malewar b Sarvate 5 6 1 0

Y Kadam c Sarwate b Bhute 16 12 1 1

R Sanjay c Bisht b Kapse 37 19 2 3

S Deshmukh c&b Kapse 0 1 0 0

P Gujar c Kapse b Kungwani 3 4 0 0

S Chawate Not Out 1 1 0 0

D Tekan run out Malewar/Jajoo 1 1 0 0

Extras: (nb 1, wd 3, lb 1) 5

TOTAL: (9 wickets, 20 overs) 230

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-68, 3-82, 4-123, 5-210, 6-210, 7-221, 

8-228, 9-230.

Bowling: Bhute 4-0-49-1, Pawar 4-0-56-1, Kapse 4-0-47-3, 

Kungwani 4-0-39-1, Sarvate 4-0-38-1.

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide c Gujar b Singh 34 21 3 2

V Jajoo c Samarth b Kadam 62 31 8 2

D Malewar c Ahuja b Salve 44 25 3 3

J Sasan c Ahuja b Gujar 28 16 1 2

H Pawar b Gujar 2 3 0 0

V Bisht Not Out 35 15 2 3

N Bhute Not Out 22 9 1 2

Extras: (b 1, nb 3, wd 2) 6

TOTAL: (5 wickets, 19.3 overs) 233

Fall of wickets: 1-85, 2-129, 3-162, 4-167, 5-184.

Bowling: Kadam 4-0-43-1, Chawate 3-0-51-0, Tekan 1-0-16-0, 

Sanjay 2-0-25-0, Singh 2.3-0-32-1, Salve 3-0-38-1, Gujar 

4-0-27-2.

Sasan and Bisht unleash BEAST power

Bharat Rangers record 44-run victory over Nagpur Heroz

By Paritosh Pramanik

BHARAT Rangers defeated Nagpur Heroz to finish their league outings on a winning note collecting highest 12 points from seven encounters in what was the last league game of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Thursday evening.

Already secured top position in the seven-team table, Bharat Rangers defeated Nagpur Heroz by 44 runs to make it to the qualifiers as number 1 team.

They will take on Pagariya Strikers in Qualifier 1 on Friday evening.

The Eliminator 1 will be played between third placed Orange Tigers and Nagpur Heroz on Friday afternoon.

Electing to bat first, Bharat Rangers rode on Jagjot Sasan (62*) and Varun Bisht’s (48*) 96 runs unbeaten partnership for the sixth wicket to post a competitive 184 for five in 20 overs.

In reply, Nagpur Heroz made 140-9 in 17.5 overs. Siddhant Muley retired hurt.

Inkoor Singh Bhamra worked hard for Nagpur Heroz with his 34-ball 38 runs but he did not get support from other end as Bharat Rangers bowlers struck in unison taking wickets at regular intervals. Hard-hitting batter Apoorv Wankhade entertained the crowd with 10-ball 24 laced with three sixes and a boundary but Nachiket Bhute cleaned him up as Nagpur Heroz’s hopes of a win evaporated.

Sasan and Varun Bisht were the linchpin of Bharat Rangers’ win. The team was at a precarious 88-5 in 12.4 overs when the two batters slogged rival bowlers to take them to a competitive 184-5 in 20.

Sasan’s unbeaten 62 (36b, 5x4, 3x6) and Bisht’s powerful undefeated 48 (25b, 2x4, 5x6) pulled Bharat Rangers from the slump as the two remained unseparated adding 96 runs for the sixth wicket from 44 deliveries. Sasan’s innings was admirable as he first stemmed the fall of wickets scoring runs in singles and doubles and then with Bisht, he unleashed his power to hit three sixes and five boundaries.

Atharva Taide started well with Vedant Jajoo being the mute spectator watching his captain hitting boundaries with ease. But, going for a non-existent run, Taide lost his wicket as he got run out in the fifth over. His departure saw Rangers losing wickets in heap as they crawled to 64-4 in nine overs from 55-2 in powerplay.

Sasan then started the repair job. The arrival of hard-hitter Bisht brought life in their innings. The batter hit three successive sixes off Rajneesh Gurbani to increase the scoring rate. Sasan, too, freed his arms hitting a straight six to Tejas Soni in the 17th over and then in the next over collected a boundary from Umesh Yadav bowling. Bharat Rangers picked 17 runs each from 18th and 19th overs and then 16 from the last over to move to a challenging total.

SCOREBOARD

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide run out Gurbani-Wath 40 23 5 2

V Jajoo c Yadav b Soni 7 7 0 0

D Malewar b Rekhade 10 12 1 0

M Agrawal c Wankhade b Jolly 3 6 0 0

J Sasan Not Out 62 36 5 3

H Pawar c Yadav b Rekhade 7 11 0 0

V Bisht Not Out 48 25 2 5

Extras: (w 7) 7

TOTAL: (5 wickets, 20 overs) 184

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-55, 3-62, 4-64, 5-88.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-49-0, Gurbani 4-0-53-0, Soni 4-0-41-1, 

Rekhade 4-0-14-2, Jolly 4-0-27-1.

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Kungwani b Pawar 19 6 3 1

T Suryavanshi b Sarvate 19 11 0 2

I Bhamra b Kapse 38 34 3 2

S Wath run out  Jajoo 0 1 0 0

K Rathod c Bisht b Kungwani 14 19 0 1

T Soni b Kapse 7 4 0 1

A Wankhade b Bhute 24 10 1 3

A Kombe c Sasan b Kungwani 1 4 0 0

R Gurbani c Chodmare b Agrawal 10 11 1 0

U Yadav Not Out 6 7 0 0

S Muley retired hurt 0 0 0 0

Extras: (wd 2) 2

TOTAL: (9 wickets, 17.5 overs) 140

Fall of wickets: Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-39, 3-39, 4-75, 5-91, 

6-121, 7-122, 8-126, 9-140.

Bowling: Bhute 3-0-29-1, Kapse 3-0-42-2, Pawar 4-0-18-1, 

Sarvate 2-0-3-1, Bisht 1-0-10-0, Kungwani 3-0-21-2, 

Ghodmare 1-0-9-0, Agrawal 0.5-0-8-1.

Rangers consolidate position at top with win

By Paritosh Pramanik

BHARAT Rangers consolidated their position at the top with a close win over India Warriors via DLS method in a rain-curtailed match of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium.

Needing 180 to win before light drizzle stopped play for around 35 minutes, India Warriors were 48-2 in 8.3 overs. But the revised target of 131 in 14 overs could not be achieved as they lost the match by eight runs.

India Warriors needed 26 runs from the last over bowled by Kunal Kungwani but captain Shubham Dubey (35*; 16b, 1x4, 4x6) could manage 17 runs with the help of two sixes and a boundary to fall short of the target.

India Warriors had a horrible start as they lost two wickets in the first over. Impact Substitute Vaibhav Lande scored 58 runs at the top but was trapped in front by Shubham Kapse in the 11th over. From there on it was a chasing game for them.

Earlier, Jagjot Sasan finally displayed his precious talent with a responsible half century after Atharva Taide slammed his second fifty of the tournament as Bharat Rangers posted a challenging 179-8 on a slow Jamtha track. Captain Taide’s knock at the top and Sasan’s middle-order stability saw Bharat Rangers reach that total. The top-middle order failed to fire with Danish Malewar returning without opening his account. Vedant Jajoo was once again unimpressive scoring only nine runs. Manan Agrawal (7) too could not contribute with the bat leaving it on Sasan to do the job.

If Taide scored at a brisk rate scoring his 51 from 33 deliveries with six boundaries and three sixes, Sasan built his innings cautiously. He rotated the strike with Aditya Sarvate (27*) to keep the scoreboard ticking. It was only after 16th over that Sasan freed his arms and hit two boundaries and four maximums. His two sixes came from Darshan Nalkande’s last over. Sasan and Sarvate posted 76 runs for the seventh wicket. Sarvate’s 27 from came from 20 balls.

India Warriors spinners must be credited for their exceptional line and length for restricting the run flow. Gurdeep Sodhi (3-31) and Kunal Nagar (3-20) shared six wickets between them while pacers Praful Hinge and Darshan Nalkande took a wicket each.

SCOREBOARD

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide c Kumar b Nagar 52 28 6 3

D Malewar c Wadkar b Nalkande 0 1 0 0

V Jajoo c Nalkande b Hinge 9 9 1 0

M Agrawal st Wadkar b Nagar 7 11 1 0

J Sasan b Sodhi 51 33 2 4

H Pawar c Singh b Nagar 0 2 0 0

V Bisht c Agrawal b Sodhi 18 13 1 2

A Sarvate Not Out 27 20 3 1

N Bhute c Bhoyar b Sodhi 6 3 0 1

K Kungwani Not Out 2 2 0 0

Extras: (wd 5, nb 2) 7

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 179

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-23, 3-54, 4-74, 5-74, 6-95, 7-171, 

8-177.

Bowling: Hinge 4-0-48-1, Nalkande 4-0-35-1, Nagar 

4-0-20-3, Kumar 2-0-23-0, Sodhi 4-0-31-3, Singh 2-0-22-0.

INDIA WARRIORS INNINGS R B 4 6

S Bhoyar run out Ghodmare/Jajoo 0 1 0 0

V Lande lbw b Kapse 58 34 2 6

A Singh c Sasan b Pawar 0 3 0 0

A Wadkar retired out 18 25 1 0

S Dubey Not Out 35 16 1 4

A Agrawal Not Out 8 5 1 0

Extras: (wd 3) 3

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 14 overs) 122

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-78, 4-86.

Bowling: Pawar 3-0-14-1, Sarvate 3-0-12-0, Taide 2-0-25-0, 

Ghodmare 1-0-8-0, Bhute 1-0-18-0, Kapse 2-0-18-1, 

Kungwani 2-0-27-0.

Orange Tigers make it to play-offs in style

Thrash Neco Master Blaster by five wickets

By Paritosh Pramanik

ROHIT Binkar toyed with defending champions Neco Master Blaster bowlers as Orange Tigers thumped them to make it to the play-offs of the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium.

With eight points from seven games, Orange Tigers joined Bharat Rangers (10), Nagpur Heroz (8) and Pagariya Strikers (8) in the top four slots. The positions will be decided after last round matches on Thursday.

The target of 163 looked too small for Orange Tigers as they knocked off the runs in 12.4 overs with five wickets in hand. Avinash Jadhav and Gaurav Farde took two wickets each for the losing side.

Neco Master Blaster created an unwanted record of finishing with a wooden spoon losing all their seven matches.

The chase was thunderous from Orange Tigers as Rohit Binkar (64; 25b, 5x4, 6x6) and Mandar Mahale (20; 13b, 3x4) clobbered the Neco Master Blaster bowlers to all parts of the field. Orange Tigers raced to 50 in just 3.1 overs and then finished the powerplay with 85 runs with the loss of Mahale’s wicket.

Binkar completed his half century in 15 balls, a joint fastest of the tournament. He was finally sent back for a 25-ball 64 by Avinash Jadhav in the 7th over caught by wicketkeeper Vedant Dighade.

In the process Binkar took the Orange Cap with 265 runs pushing behind Pagariya Strikers’ R Samarth (261). Vishesh Ram Tiwari entertained Orange Tigers supporters with 16-ball 45 which had six fours and three sixes.

Neco Master Blaster had nothing to lose in their last inconsequential match. They threw their bats and succeeded in scoring 123 runs in 10 overs but in the process lost seven wickets.

Captain Jitesh Sharma hit maximum five sixes from his cameo of 13-ball 37 to entertain the sparse crowd. Though Neco Master Blaster batters slammed sixes they were unable to produce any good partnership. Orange Tigers’ Addhyan Rauthan was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets from his quota of four overs. His wickets included Kush Khandelwal, Jitesh, Vaibhav Chandekar and Gaurav Farde.

Purple Cap holder Aditya Thakare swelled his wickets column further to 19 taking three Neco Master Blaster scalps on Wednesday. Shantanu Rajput then scored 17-ball 32 which had two fours and three maximums as the bottom placed side crawled towards a total which was easily chased by Orange Tigers.

SCOREBOOARD

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

V Dighade c Binkar b Dubey 10 4 1 1

K Khandelwal c Dubey b Rauthan 8 9 2 0

A Daga c Binkar b Dubey 14 7 0 2

J Sharma c Binkar b Rauthan 37 13 1 5

T Kadu c Padole b Thakare 21 10 1 2

V Chandekar c Mahale b Rauthan 8 5 0 1

S Rajput c Mahale b Dahiya 32 17 2 3

G Farde c Mahale b Rauthan 7 6 1 0

A Jadhav Not Out 12 27 0 0

A Meshram c Varma b Thakare 1 3 0 0

D Parwani c Dubey b Thakare 6 20 0 0

Extras: (wd 3, lb 2, nb 1) 6

TOTAL: (All out, 20 overs) 162

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-28, 3-70, 4-71, 5-100, 6-104, 7-123, 8-146, 9-147.

Bowling: Dubey 4-0-28-2, Thakare 4-0-26-3, Dahiya 3-0-23-1, Padole 2-0-30-0, Rauthan 4-0-29-4, Varma 1-0-21-0, Mahale 2-1-3-0.

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale c Khandelwal b Jadhav 20 13 3 0

R Binkar c Dighade b Jadhav 64 25 5 6

A Agarwal c Sharma b Farde 10 11 0 0

Y Rathod c Rajput b Farde 5 6 0 0

V Tiwari lbw b Jayaswal 45 17 6 3

K Dahiya Not Out 8 7 1 0

A Karnewar Not Out 1 1 0 0

Extras: (wd 9, nb 4) 13

TOTAL:(5 wickets, 12.4 overs) 166

Fall of Wickets: 1-70, 2-93, 3-103, 4-105, 5-161.

Bowling: Parwani 3-0-64-0, Jayaswal 1.4-0-28-1, Jadhav 4-0-36-2, Farde 3-0-32-2, Kadu 1-0-6-0.

Heroz hand Tigers second defeat

By Paritosh Pramanik

ATHLETICISM was on display on Tuesday afternoon where Nagpur Heroz fielders flew like ‘Supermen’ taking unbelievable catches as they defeated Orange Tigers for the second time in space of six days in the Vidarbha Premier League here at VCA’s Jamtha International Stadium.

Nagpur Heroz, who beat Orange Tigers by 10 runs in their first encounter, produced a much better performance in the return leg, especially on the field, to register a thumping 40 runs victory. The win also took them to second spot with eight points, same as toppers Bharat Rangers. Both the teams will clash in the last league match on June 11.

Little cameos from the batters helped Nagpur Heroz post a competitive 207-7 in 20 overs.

Chasing 208, Orange Tigers were restricted at 167-9 in 20 overs. All the five Nagpur Heroz bowlers picked wickets with Parth Rekhade taking maximum three. Umesh Yadav and Siddhant Muley took two each while Rajneesh Gurbani and Tejas Soni took one each.

There were two brilliant catches by Nagpur Heroz fielders. First in the sixth over, Orange Tigers’ Impact Substitute Rohit Binkar (3) was caught by Rajveer Jolly, another Impact Substitute from Nagpur Heroz. Binkar pulled a Rajneesh Gurbani delivery which went in the air towards the third man fence. Jolly ran around 15 metres back to grab a stunning diving catch.

Then in the 8th over, Yash Rathod (31) tried to clear the long-off fence off Siddhant Muley but lanky Gurbani dived to take a brilliant one-handed catch just inside the ropes.

Kshitiz Dahiya was the only bright spot in Orange Tigers’ batting who hit a fighting 71 runs from 32 balls.

Earlier, captain Aman Mokhade (42) and Rekhade (33) put up 57 runs for the opening wicket. Mokhade hit three sixes and five boundaries in his 17-ball stay in the middle. Orange Tigers pacer Aditya Thakare, who is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 16 scalps, got him caught by Mandar Mahale in the 5th over. Thakare went on to take the wickets of Soni and Kartik Rathod as well in the innings.

Orange Tigers managed to score 70 in powerplay but lost another wicket in Tushar Suryavanshi (10). By the 10th over, they managed to put up 97 runs but went on to lose wicketkeeper-batter Siddhesh Wath (17). Though there were no big scores from batters, Soni (32), Apoorv Wankhade (24*) and Gurbani (16*) made sure they posed a good challenge for the Orange Tigers. And they did.

SCOREBOARD

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Rathod b Padole 33 30 3 1

A Mokhade c Mahale b Thakare 42 17 5 3

T Suryavanshi c Tiwari b Dahiya 10 4 1 1

S Wath c Mahale b Rauthan 17 16 2 0

S Muley lbw b Rauthan 9 8 0 1

T Soni c Dahiya b Thakare 32 17 1 3

K Rathod c Rauthan b Thakare 14 6 0 2

A Wankhade Not Out 24 13 2 1

R Gurbani Not Out 16 9 1 1

Extras: (w 5, lb 5) 10

TOTAL: (7 wickets, 20 overs) 207

Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-68, 3-95, 4-118, 5-126, 6-146, 7-176.

Bowling: Dubey 4-0-25-0, Thakare 4-0-59-3, Dahiya 

4-0-56-1, Padole 3-0-26-1, Rauthan 3-0-15-2, Mahale 1-0-9-0, 

Karnewar 1-0-12-0.

ORANGE TIGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

M Mahale lbw b Yadav 6 10 0 0

R Binkar c Jolly b Gurbani 3 9 0 0

Y Rathod c Gurbani b Muley 31 18 4 1

D Shorey c Yadav b Rekhade 4 8 0 0

A Karnewar c Jolly b Rekhade 11 12 0 1

S Padole c Rathod b Muley 7 4 0 1

K Dahiya c Bhamra b Yadav 71 32 6 5

V Tiwari c Bhamra b Rekhade 12 3 0 2

A Rauthan c Wankhade b Soni 11 18 0 0

H Varma Not Out 1 1 0 0

A Thakare Not Out 5 5 1 0

Extras: (w 4, lb 1) 5

TOTAL: (9 wickets, 20 overs) 167

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-37, 3-44, 4-48, 5-64, 6-66, 7-78, 

8-145, 9-161.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-39-2, Gurbani 4-0-28-1, Soni 4-0-39-1, 

Rekhade 4-0-27-3, Muley 4-0-33-2.

Pagariya Strikers take third spot with victory

By Paritosh Pramanik

DEFENDING champions Neco Master Blaster have become a punching bag this season. The team has failed to record a single win in their six matches they played till date.

In their return-leg match against Pagariya Strikers, Master Blaster once again suffered defeat, this time by eight wickets. Pagariya Strikers thus moved to third spot with eight points.

Neco Master Blaster did manage to post a competitive 166-8, thanks to Jitesh Sharma’s half century but the bowlers once again failed to defend the total. Pagariya Strikers’ opener Aditya Ahuja slammed unbeaten 78 runs from 40 balls (9x4, 4x6) while Yash Kadam played a captain’s knock of 72* runs (39b, 3x4, 6x6) to puncture Neco Master Blaster bowling. The two added undefeated 146 runs for the third wicket which took them home with 25 balls to spare.

Despite losing Faiz Sheikh early, Pagariya Strikers raced to 49-2 in powerplay (5.4 overs). Ravikumar Samarth was sent back for a duck by a brilliant catch by Shanmesh Deshmukh who dived forward to grab the stunner. Opener Ahuja was then joined by Kadam and the two spared none. Kadam picked three boundaries from an Arya Durugkar over. Ahuja, on the other hand, picked Gaurav Farde to hit a couple of boundaries. As the innings progressed, sixes started flowing from the bats of both the players. Kadam and Ahuja hit captain Ananmay Jayaswal for a six each in the 12th over as they inched closer to the revised target of 168 (original 167).

The formalities were done quite early with both the batsmen returning home unharmed. 

Jitesh finally showed his batting skills hitting his first half century of the competition and some rearguard action from Shantanu Rajput (25) and Vedant Dighade (45) helped Neco Master Blaster score 166-8 in a rain-curtailed first innings.

Jitesh hit 10 fours and two sixes to score 56 runs from 21 deliveries. He and Kush Khandelwal posted 65 runs for the third wicket in which Jitesh contributed 56 runs.

Neco Master Blaster, who were captained by Ananmay Jayaswal, lost opener Adhyayan Daga (6) and Tushar Kadu (5) by the third over. Rains intervened for a brief period and the match was reduced to 19-overs-per side encounter. When rain stopped play, Neco Master Blaster were 118-5 from 14.1 overs with Dighade (11) and Rajput (23) at the crease. After restart, Master Blaster added 48 runs from the remaining 5.5 overs.

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

A Daga lbw b Kadam 6 6 1 0

K Khandelwal b Singh 14 19 1 0

T Kadu b Tekani 5 4 1 0

J Sharma c Samarth b Gujar 56 21 10 2

S Rajput c Gujar b Kadam 25 23 1 1

V Chandekar b Gujar 1 3 0 0

V Dighade c Kadam b Chawate 45 27 1 4

S Deshmukh run out Ramaswamy-Chawate 8 10 1 0

G Farde Not Out 0 0 0 0

D Parwani Not Out 4 1 1 0

Extras: (w 2) 2

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 19 overs) 166

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-14, 3-79, 4-85, 5-92, 6-127, 7-156, 

8-162.

Bowling: Chawate 4-0-35-1, Kadam 3-0-22-2, Tekani 2-0-35-1, 

Salve 4-0-33-0, Gujar 4-0-26-2, Singh 2-0-15-1.

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Ahuja Not Out 78 40 9 4

F Sheikh c Khandelwal b Parwani 9 9 1 0

R Samarth c Deshmukh b Parwani 0 2 0 0

Y Kadam Not Out 72 39 3 6

Extras: (w 8, nb 1) 9

TOTAL: (2 wickets, 14.5 overs) 168

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-22.

Bowling: Jayaswal 3.5-0-47-0, Deshmukh 2-0-30-0, Parwani 

3-0-20-2, Durugkar 2-0-31-0, Daga 2-0-17-0, Farde 1-0-16-0, 

Sharma 1-0-7-0.

Special invitees from Gadchiroli cheer for Bharat Rangers

 AROUND 800 school children from Gadchiroli’s Naxal-infested area were special invitees of B Prabhakaran, Lloyd’s Metal & Energy and Rohit Agrawal of Rohit Agrawal Iron and Steel Company’s Bharat Rangers match of the Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium.

The kids witnessed table-toppers Bharat Rangers’ clash against Pagariya Strikers from the stands and enjoyed every bit of the moment. The kids were part of the initiative drawn at the behest of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the development and training of affected children and their families. The kids were seen waving franchise’s flags at every four and sixes hit and also when they took wickets of the rival team.

Snacks packets and water was provided by Bharat Rangers to promote social awareness.

Rangers suffer first defeat

Lose to Pagariya Strikers by nine wickets

By Paritosh Pramanik

PAGARIYA Strikers’ openers Aditya Ahuja and Faiz Sheikh overpowered Bharat Rangers’ Varun Bisht’s brutal knock to hand the table toppers their first defeat of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Monday evening.

Chasing 183 runs target, Pagariya Strikers rode on two top-order partnerships to achieve the target with nine wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare. The win also arrested their two-game losing streak and now they moved to fourth spot with six points from five games.

In the first innings, Bisht bailed out Bharat Rangers from a 

precarious 101-6 in 15 overs to 182 in 20. 

The target looked challenging before Ahuja (38) and left-handed Faiz (77*; 42b, 6x4, 4x6) went on boundary-plucking spree to deflate Bharat Rangers. Ahuja missed his half century after being sent back by Bisht in 8th over. But Ravikumar Samarth (61*; 37b, 3x4, 4x6) and Faiz added unbeaten 113 runs for the second wicket to make the chase look easy. Samarth got back his Orange Cap once again, emerging as the top scorer with 261 runs from five innings.

Bharat Rangers bowlers were themselves to blame for the defeat as the bowled either too full or too short. Captain Atharva Taide used six bowlers but to no avail. Shubham Kapse and Impact Sub Mandar Ghodmare were hit for three sixes each.

Earlier, diminutive hard-hitting batter Bisht (56; 18b, 2x4, 7x6) unleashed his brute power to escort Bharat Rangers to a competitive 182-8 after they were in a spot of bother initially.

Bharat Rangers were 100-6 after 15 overs when Bisht walked in to join Jagjot Sasan (31). What unfolded in the next five overs was a carnage from Bisht as he recorded the fastest fifty (54) of the tournament which came from just 15 deliveries. 

By the time he raised his bat to celebrate his half century, Bisht had slammed seven huge sixes and two boundaries.

Along with Sasan, the duo added important 69 runs for the seventh wicket with the former scoring just nine runs. From the last five overs, Bharat Rangers scored 82 runs to pose a fight . Sasan got out in the 18th over and Bisht followed him in the next over giving the bowlers enough cushion of runs to defend.

For Pagariya Strikers, skipper Yash Kadam, Kaustubh Salve and R Sanjay took two wickets each.

SCOREBOARD

BHARAT RANGERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Taide b Kadam 1 3 0 0

D Malewar c Ramaswamy b Chawate 8 9 1 0

V Jajoo c Ahuja b Kadam 38 21 4 2

M Agrawal c Sheikh b Salve 14 18 1 0

J Sasan c Ramaswamy b Yadav 31 28 1 1

V Palandurkar c Kadam b Salve 1 5 0 0

A Sarwate c Samarth b Ramaswamy 12 13 1 0

V Bisht c Rajput b Ramaswamy 56 18 2 7

N Bhute Not Out 2 3 0 0

K Kungwani Not Out 9 3 0 1

Extras: (w 5, lb 1, b 3, nb 1) 10

TOTAL: (8 wickets, 20 overs) 182

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-12, 3-60, 4-66, 5-71, 6-100, 7-169, 8-171.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-35-1, Kadam 4-0-19-2, Chawate 3-0-45-1, Salve 4-0-31-2, Singh 1-0-9-0, Gujar 2-0-24-0, Ramaswamy 2-0-15-2.

PAGARIYA STRIKERS INNINGS R B 4 6

A Ahuja c Kungwani b Bisht 38 29 5 1

F Sheikh Not Out 77 42 6 4

R Samarth Not Out 61 37 3 4

Extras: (wd 6, b 1) 7

TOTAL: (1 wicket, 18 overs) 183

Fall of wicket: 1-70.

Bowling: Bhute 3-0-25-0, Kapse 2-0-32-0, Kungwani 3-0-28-0, Sarwate 2-0-19-0, Bisht 4-0-38-1, Ghodmare 3-0-34-0, Sasan 1-0-6-0.

Neco Master Blaster out of play-offs race

Lose to Nagpur Heroz by 6 wkts for 5th straight defeat

By Paritosh Pramanik

DEFENDING champions Neco Master Blaster slumped to their fifth defeat in-a-row and are out of play-offs race after they were beaten by six wickets by Nagpur Heroz in a rain-curtailed VPL match on Monday afternoon.

The Jitesh Sharma-led side, which is lingering at the bottom of the table, posted a meagre 146 all out in 19 overs. Heavens opened during the innings break and the chase for Nagpur Heroz was delayed by around 45 minutes. The revised target of 94 from 11 overs was chased down easily in 7.5 overs (DLS method) by Nagpur Heroz who moved to third spot with six points.

Neco Master Blaster still have two games in hand and even if they win those they would earn only four points which won’t be enough for them to finish at least fourth for a play-offs berth.

Nagpur Heroz opener and captain Aman Mokhade stayed unbeaten with 38 from 18 balls. Mokhade and Siddhesh Wath (12) put up 47 runs for the third wicket to keep the chase in control. Costliest player of the competition Apoorv Wankhade hit eight-ball 19 runs with two sixes and a four to seal the deal for Heroz. 

Neco Master Blaster shot themselves in their foot by playing rash shots when asked to bat first as their innings folded at 146 in 19 overs.

Neco Master Blaster had an outside chance to make it to the play-offs but they played without any purpose. Their shot selection was questionable and batters, including captain Jitesh Sharma, will have to explain their ways of throwing their wickets. When boundaries could have been scored, most of the batters went for aerial routes giving each catch.

Jitesh walked in at No 5 with the scoreboard reading 79-4 in the 9th over. He smacked Rajveer Jolly for a four and a six but then had brain-fade as he threw his wicket by playing an unwanted scoop shot. Umesh Yadav gleefully accepted the catch behind the wicketkeeper.

Nagpur Heroz bowlers enjoyed the afternoon where sun played hide-and-seek with clouds over the Jamtha sky.

All the five bowlers were among wickets with Tejas Soni emerging as the highest wicket-taker of the innings with three scalps. Rajneesh Gurbani and Jolly chipped in with two wickets each while Parth Rekhade and Yadav picked up one apiece. Yadav would have taken a couple had Mokhade not spilled a sitter. Yadav was later smacked for 22 runs by Sanmesh Deshmukh with three sixes and a four. Tushar Naidu scored 28 runs at the top while Vaibhav Chandekar put up 21 batting at No 3.

SCOREBOARD

NECO MASTER BLASTER INNINGS R B 4 6

A Daga c Wankhade b Gurbani 11 10 2 0

T Kadu c Gurbani b Soni 28 20 3 2

V Chandekar c Wankhade b Jolly 21 19 1 1

A Meshram c Yadav b Rekhade 8 9 1 0

J Sharma c Yadav b Jolly 11 6 1 1

V Dighade c Wath b Gurbani 9 15 0 0

S Rajput c Rathod b Soni 16 11 0 2

S Deshmukh Not Out 26 15 1 3

D Parwani c Wath b Yadav 1 4 0 0

G Dhoble lbw b Soni 9 4 2 0

A Jayaswal run out (Wath) 1 2 0 0

Extras: (wd 4, nb 1) 5

TOTAL: (All out, 19 overs) 146

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-45, 3-66, 4-79, 5-87, 6-107, 7-112, 

8-113, 9-122.

Bowling: Yadav 4-0-39-1, Gurbani 4-0-24-2, Soni 3-0-31-3, 

Rekhade 4-0-24-1, Jolly 4-0-28-2.

NAGPUR HEROZ INNINGS R B 4 6

P Rekhade c Sharma b Deshmukh 0 3 0 0

A Mokhade Not Out 38 18 0 4

T Suryavanshi c Rajput b Parwani 14 4 2 1

S Wath c Daga b Gupta 12 10 2 0

K Rathod c Jayaswal b Gupta 8 5 1 0

A Wankhade Not Out 19 8 1 2

Extras: (wd 3, nb 1) 4

TOTAL: (4 wickets, 7.5 overs) 95

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-62, 4-74.

Bowling: Deshmukh 2-0-28-1, Parwani 2.5-0-37-1, Gupta 

2-0-19-2, Jayaswal 1-0-11-0. 

(Nagpur Heroz won via DLS method)